This recipe caught my eye over at the website for Tao of Wellness. This is the website of the Drs. Maoshing and Daoshing Ni, owners and founders of Yo San University, my Alma mater. This recipe in particular comes from Dr. Mao, under the intention "Heart Health", and originally uses salmon. Since wild caught salmon is so over fished now, hubby and I opted for wild caught cod. It was a wonderful substitute.
Basically what I am giving you is a sauce and cooking instructions, both of which are from the Mao's recipe. His recipe gives you more stuff to do with it, like eating as a salad, with the sauce as a dressing, and cooking leeks with it. We tried cooking the leeks with it, but I think they were too big, as they didn't cook all the way through.
So with no further ado, here is an extremely simple and delicious fish dish!
14 oz Cod filet (serves two)
sliced fresh ginger
1/2 c. Rice vinegar
2 T. white miso
1/2 to 1 tsp. powdered ginger
Heat oven to 375.
In a saucepan, warm the vinegar. When warm, add in miso and ginger powder, stirring to combine.
Lay the cod on a sheet of aluminum foil, gathering up the edges to make a bowl shape. Lay the slices of fresh ginger over the fish. Spoon the sauce over the filets.
Roll the edges of the aluminum foil together to make a tent.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Options:
Leeks- slice in half lengthwise, then slice the halves into thirds lengthwise. Place over filet, over the ginger, and pour sauce over the whole thing. Tent and bake.
We had this tonight with the Celeriac and Parsley soup. Yum!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Celery Root and Parsley Bliss; An amazing, simple soup...
This soup makes you feel the way you felt the first time you laid eyes upon your high school crush- hopeful, slightly breathless, and kind of peacefully exuberant! However, unlike the highly unpredictable outcome of said high school crush, the end result of this soup recipe will turn out brilliantly!
Celery Root (Celeriac) and Parsley Soup
**First a word to the wise. Peeling celery root is a workout. Just use a sturdy vegetable peeler, but have a knife handy if you really need to slice something off. I got through one and a half roots before needing to bring in hubby reinforcement!
Coconut oil (Olive is fine also)
½ yellow onion, sliced into half-moons
2-3 voluptuous cloves garlic
2 large celery roots, totaling about 2-2 ½ lbs, sliced into ¼ inch thick slices
8 cups broth, or enough to cover celery root (I used one carton Imagine Organic reduced sodium chicken broth, and one container Imagine Organic no- chicken Chicken broth. They make a lovely combination)
1 fluffy bunch flat leaf parsley (rinse well, chop roughly)
Optional to add at end;
Lemon juice
Salt
Black pepper
In a large pot, sauté onion in about 1 tbsp coconut oil until slightly translucent. Add minced garlic, sauté 1 minute more. Pour in broth and add celery root. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cover. Cook for about 40 minutes. When celery root is fork-tender (think mashed potato texture), turn off heat. Let cool for a bit, say 15 minutes.
Ladle out extra broth into a separate bowl. You will add this into the blender shortly.
Add the bunch of parsley to the main pot, try to use mostly leaves, some stems are OK, mix in well. Scoop out 2-3 cups of the soup into the blender. Blend until smooth, adding some of the broth back in for desired consistency (I used it all throughout the 3 batches I blended). As you blend each batch, pour it out into another pot.
*If you run out of broth to add, use water, just not more than ¾ cup max, so as not to dilute flavour (yes, I tend to add in extra U's- it's the old English romantic in me I suppose).
TASTE. Then decide if you want to add any of the optional ingredients. Personally, I didn’t.
Not one of the three people I gave this soup to had ever tried celeriac, let alone eat parsley, and they all LOVED it.
Excellent for dinner or an early light breakfast with a soft boiled egg on the side!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Who would have thunk?
Wow. Life can sure change quick!
While my gut and heart are on the same page, my brain is still resisting surrender. Tomorrow is my Grad exam, which I have to pass in order to qualify to sit for my licensing exam in January. I couldn't care less.
This year has been hard. Not on the outside, where all can see, but on the inside. As the year progressed, so did my discontentment. Weird things began happening- like my feet and ankles hurting so bad I could barely make it through my shifts. Extreme neck pain, not wanting to get out of bed in the morning (I usually love waking early), and just basically walking around wondering "whose life is this? Nothing feels...right..."
When I got the news in the beginning of August that the date for the boards had been moved up a month (meaning I HAD to pass this upcoming grad exam, with no chance for a do-over next semester) I felt like I was drowning. I searched high and low for- what I like to call- the fear. The fear motivates you. It quickens your blood, sharpens your focus. It's a spastic sort of passion that makes you want to take care of business! My fear was totally MIA. Gone. In it's place was just a sort of emptiness...and guilt, the Bad Voice (you should care, you are supposed to do this, don't you want to get out there and help people???) And of course, the insecure voice (but all your friends are doing this...you will be the last one to finish...you are going to be left out!). Aaaargh!
I knew I was in trouble. I was having a hard time being around myself. I was having a hard time being myself. My instincts said, 'Listen, what would you tell one of your patients to do if they felt like this?', and I promptly answered back, 'I would tell them to get regular treatments.'
So I did. The acupuncturist I saw specializes in treating the spirit. She helped me realize that I need to live MY life, not the life my fellow classmates were living, nor the life that had been outlined so nicely for me by my school, showing a nice 4-year model sequence. Once it really sunk in that I needed to take a step back, and that it was OK to do so (!), I asked myself 'How do I want my life to look?' Aahhhh...suddenly I could breathe. Actually, suddenly I could exhale. I could Let Go.
I am very happy now. I am sitting for that exam tomorrow, just to give it a go. I will sincerely take it again in January, then spend a few months taking National exams, then the licensing exam in August. In the meantime, I am taking a yoga training course (one of my forgotten passions), cooking again, and generally walking around with a permanent grin on my face. My feet don't hurt, and I do not wake up with a sense of dread. I am not a person who can just force myself through something. I have to feel passion in my heart. I have to know in my guts why I am doing something. I do not want this process to be something I can't wait to have over- I authentically want to enjoy the journey. If I constantly walk around wanting to finish, then I am never living in my present... my now. I accept nothing less than living in my present moment. If I try to forget that, my body suffers. My loved ones suffer. My patients suffer. It's no good!
This is a hard thing for my mind to sit with. Well, I figure I have about 25 years of conditioning to retrain! Whenever I hear my mind (the small self) trying to convince me I am not good enough, or am being a baby, or whatever- I just take a deep breath and ask myself 'Where's the fire? Whose race am I trying to be in?' and then I feel myself soften a little. And the True Voice answers, 'I see there is no fire, no race.' I am just here, now. Loving my life, loving the journey.
I want to leave you with something my friend Becca posted the other day on her blog http://beccalosangeles.com/;
While my gut and heart are on the same page, my brain is still resisting surrender. Tomorrow is my Grad exam, which I have to pass in order to qualify to sit for my licensing exam in January. I couldn't care less.
This year has been hard. Not on the outside, where all can see, but on the inside. As the year progressed, so did my discontentment. Weird things began happening- like my feet and ankles hurting so bad I could barely make it through my shifts. Extreme neck pain, not wanting to get out of bed in the morning (I usually love waking early), and just basically walking around wondering "whose life is this? Nothing feels...right..."
When I got the news in the beginning of August that the date for the boards had been moved up a month (meaning I HAD to pass this upcoming grad exam, with no chance for a do-over next semester) I felt like I was drowning. I searched high and low for- what I like to call- the fear. The fear motivates you. It quickens your blood, sharpens your focus. It's a spastic sort of passion that makes you want to take care of business! My fear was totally MIA. Gone. In it's place was just a sort of emptiness...and guilt, the Bad Voice (you should care, you are supposed to do this, don't you want to get out there and help people???) And of course, the insecure voice (but all your friends are doing this...you will be the last one to finish...you are going to be left out!). Aaaargh!
I knew I was in trouble. I was having a hard time being around myself. I was having a hard time being myself. My instincts said, 'Listen, what would you tell one of your patients to do if they felt like this?', and I promptly answered back, 'I would tell them to get regular treatments.'
So I did. The acupuncturist I saw specializes in treating the spirit. She helped me realize that I need to live MY life, not the life my fellow classmates were living, nor the life that had been outlined so nicely for me by my school, showing a nice 4-year model sequence. Once it really sunk in that I needed to take a step back, and that it was OK to do so (!), I asked myself 'How do I want my life to look?' Aahhhh...suddenly I could breathe. Actually, suddenly I could exhale. I could Let Go.
I am very happy now. I am sitting for that exam tomorrow, just to give it a go. I will sincerely take it again in January, then spend a few months taking National exams, then the licensing exam in August. In the meantime, I am taking a yoga training course (one of my forgotten passions), cooking again, and generally walking around with a permanent grin on my face. My feet don't hurt, and I do not wake up with a sense of dread. I am not a person who can just force myself through something. I have to feel passion in my heart. I have to know in my guts why I am doing something. I do not want this process to be something I can't wait to have over- I authentically want to enjoy the journey. If I constantly walk around wanting to finish, then I am never living in my present... my now. I accept nothing less than living in my present moment. If I try to forget that, my body suffers. My loved ones suffer. My patients suffer. It's no good!
This is a hard thing for my mind to sit with. Well, I figure I have about 25 years of conditioning to retrain! Whenever I hear my mind (the small self) trying to convince me I am not good enough, or am being a baby, or whatever- I just take a deep breath and ask myself 'Where's the fire? Whose race am I trying to be in?' and then I feel myself soften a little. And the True Voice answers, 'I see there is no fire, no race.' I am just here, now. Loving my life, loving the journey.
I want to leave you with something my friend Becca posted the other day on her blog http://beccalosangeles.com/;
Written by Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
Autobiography in 5 Chapters
Chapter One
I walk down the street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in.
I am lost… I am hopeless.
It isn’t my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter Two
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don’t see it.
I fall in again.
I can’t believe I’m in the same place.
But it isn’t my fault.
It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter Three
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in… it’s a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
Chapter Four
I walk down the same street.
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.
Chapter Five
I walk down another street.
Which chapter are you living?
Lots of love, Karen
Monday, February 18, 2008
Massive meat recall rant...
I am not writing this article for shock value...it actually isn't all that shocking, but rather as a reminder to meat eaters that the people at major, mass production slaughterhouses HAVE NO CONCERN FOR THE HEALTH AND WELL BEING OF THE ANIMALS OR YOU!!! There are many reasons to refuse to support these industries.
1) The well being of the animals tortured for your burger. (note that places like In N' Out were buying meat from this slaughterhouse)
2) The cleanliness and health value of the product you are putting into YOUR BODY. Your digestive tract is a closed system. Except for overtly poisoned food or foreign objects, your guts will digest whatever you put in your mouth. Over time these "sub-clinical" toxins build up and the body can no longer hide the toxicity from us (heart problems, arthritis, vision problems, etc...)
3) The well being of slaughterhouse workers themselves! The workers at the front lines of these mass production slaughterhouses are generally uneducated, undocumented, immigrant workers who themselves are abused in the form of long hours, depressing, physically grueling work, no or limited bathroom breaks (just imagine where they DO go to the bathroom...right on the killing room floor...). These people generally become disgruntled and angry. IF you are a person who does not support illegal immigration into this country, why are you supporting these mass production slaughterhouses with YOUR MONEY?
This is the largest meat recall in history...and it was exposed by citizens fighting for your rights as consumers and the rights of the animals who cannot speak!
Think about it! Support local, independent farmers and ranchers who are still small enough to be held accountable. It is so easy! Many of us are eating way too much meat anyway...try only eating meat you purchase from independent ranchers/farmers. Get your meat from Whole Foods, or another such place. Order meat directly from www.mercola.com (free range bison, wild Alaskan salmon....)
Mother Teresa (Many have opinions about her...I have none yet, but I like this point...) said she would never sit for an anti-war rally, but would always sit for a peace rally. THINK ABOUT IT.
Think about it...and then think about taking responsibility for where you are directing YOUR energies.
Rant over, I am hopping off my soapbox now...thank you if you made it this far....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080218/ap_on_bi_ge/slaughterhouse_abuse
Video link to ABC world news (not too overwhelming...it's edited for general viewing...basically if you eat meat, you should at least have the courage to watch this video)
http://www.yahoo.com/s/812629
1) The well being of the animals tortured for your burger. (note that places like In N' Out were buying meat from this slaughterhouse)
2) The cleanliness and health value of the product you are putting into YOUR BODY. Your digestive tract is a closed system. Except for overtly poisoned food or foreign objects, your guts will digest whatever you put in your mouth. Over time these "sub-clinical" toxins build up and the body can no longer hide the toxicity from us (heart problems, arthritis, vision problems, etc...)
3) The well being of slaughterhouse workers themselves! The workers at the front lines of these mass production slaughterhouses are generally uneducated, undocumented, immigrant workers who themselves are abused in the form of long hours, depressing, physically grueling work, no or limited bathroom breaks (just imagine where they DO go to the bathroom...right on the killing room floor...). These people generally become disgruntled and angry. IF you are a person who does not support illegal immigration into this country, why are you supporting these mass production slaughterhouses with YOUR MONEY?
This is the largest meat recall in history...and it was exposed by citizens fighting for your rights as consumers and the rights of the animals who cannot speak!
Think about it! Support local, independent farmers and ranchers who are still small enough to be held accountable. It is so easy! Many of us are eating way too much meat anyway...try only eating meat you purchase from independent ranchers/farmers. Get your meat from Whole Foods, or another such place. Order meat directly from www.mercola.com (free range bison, wild Alaskan salmon....)
Mother Teresa (Many have opinions about her...I have none yet, but I like this point...) said she would never sit for an anti-war rally, but would always sit for a peace rally. THINK ABOUT IT.
Think about it...and then think about taking responsibility for where you are directing YOUR energies.
Rant over, I am hopping off my soapbox now...thank you if you made it this far....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080218/ap_on_bi_ge/slaughterhouse_abuse
Video link to ABC world news (not too overwhelming...it's edited for general viewing...basically if you eat meat, you should at least have the courage to watch this video)
http://www.yahoo.com/s/812629
Friday, January 18, 2008
Almost...
I am still getting my thoughts together about what/how/why I want to start a blog, about what content I want here, etc...
I believe this will be a space for me to air my thoughts about health, Western Medicine, Chinese medicine, pet nutrition, and the like. It has always been a bit hard for me to put my thoughts into print, but there seems so much I feel I have a responsibility to share, I'm going to give it a go!
Going...going...
I believe this will be a space for me to air my thoughts about health, Western Medicine, Chinese medicine, pet nutrition, and the like. It has always been a bit hard for me to put my thoughts into print, but there seems so much I feel I have a responsibility to share, I'm going to give it a go!
Going...going...
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